A Canadian by birth, McSorley moved to the United States with his father and stepmother when he was 11-years-old and spent his teenage years in the St. Lawrence Seaway town of Ogdensburg, New York. A veteran mariner, McSorley had over 40 years experience on both the Great Lakes and Oceans. He assumed command of the Fitzgerald at the start of the 1972 shipping season, and had commanded nine ships before joining the crew of the Fitzgerald. A quiet person, McSorley was well respected by his contemporaries as a skillful master, and by his men, whom he treated as professionals. McSorley had turned 62 in 1975 and intended to retire at the end of the shipping season.

McSorley resided in the Ottawa Hills suburb of Toledo, Ohio and was married to the former Nellie Pollock, an Illinois native. Although he had no children of his own, Nellie was the mother of three children from a previous marriage. Nellie McSorley, who was in ill health at the time of her husband's death, survived for another seventeen years, passing away at that age 82 on February 13, 1993.

Edmund Fitzgerald Cooks

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'.
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya. Gordon Lightfoot
Pam Johnson "The Old Cook" VIDEO
George "Red" Burgner Cook VIDEO

A Ship Masters' Prayer - Blessed are all Thy saints, O God and King, who have traveled over the tempestuous sea of this life and have made the harbor of peace and felicity. Watch over us who are still on our dangerous voyage; and remember such as lied exposed to the rough storms of trouble and temptations.
Frail is our vessel, and the waters are wide; but as in Thy mercy Thou hast set our course, so steer the vessel of our life towards the everlasting shore of peace, and bring us at length to the quiet haven of our heart's desire, where Thou, O God art blessed, and live and reign for ever.
Amen.
By: Mariners' Church of Detroit

Edmund Fitzgerald's reported crew of 29 on her final voyage included:
" TOTAL ACCOMMODATION FOR 46 PERSON"

Last - First - Position - Age - Hometown
Armagost, Michael E. Third Mate 37 Iron River, Wisconsin
Beetcher, Fred J. Porter 56 Superior, Wisconsin
Bentsen, Thomas D. Oiler 23 St. Joseph, Michigan
Bindon, Edward F. First Assistant Engineer 47 Fairport Harbor, Ohio
Borgeson, Thomas D. Maintenance Man 41 Duluth, Minnesota
Champeau, Oliver J. Third Assistant Engineer 41 Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Church, Nolan S. Porter 55 Silver Bay, Minnesota
Cundy, Ransom E. Watchman 53 Superior, Wisconsin
Edwards, Thomas E. Second Assistant Engineer 50 Oregon, Ohio
Haskell, Russell G. Second Assistant Engineer 40 Millbury, Ohio
Holl, George J. Chief Engineer 60 Cabot, Pennsylvania
Hudson, Bruce L. Deck Hand 22 North Olmsted, Ohio
Kalmon, Allen G. Second Cook 43 Washburn, Wisconsin
MacLellan, Gordon F. Wiper 30 Clearwater, Florida
Mazes, Joseph W. Special Maintenance Man 59 Ashland, Wisconsin
McCarthy, John H. First Mate 62 Bay Village, Ohio
McSorley, Ernest M. Captain 63 Toledo, Ohio
O'Brien, Eugene W. Wheelsman 50 Toledo, Ohio
Peckol, Karl A. Watchman 20 Ashtabula, Ohio
Poviach, John J. Wheelsman 59 Bradenton, Florida
Pratt, James A. Second Mate 44 Lakewood, Ohio
Rafferty, Robert C. Steward 62 Toledo, Ohio
Rippa, Paul M. Deck Hand 22 Ashtabula, Ohio
Simmons, John D. Wheelsman 63 Ashland, Wisconsin
Spengler, William J. Watchman 59 Toledo, Ohio
Thomas, Mark A. Deck Hand 21 Richmond Heights, Ohio
Walton, Ralph G. Oiler 58 Fremont, Ohio
Weiss, David E. Cadet 22 Agoura, California
Wilhelm, Blaine H. Oiler 52 Moquah, Wisconsin

Meet Daughter of ROBERT C. RAFFERTY

I am honored and excited to be invited to attend the upcoming service held this
November 10th in River Rouge.I will be coming from Kansas to honor my dad and the other
28 crewmen.My father was the " Old Cook" referred to in the Gordon Lightfoot song.
There will be so many events having to do with the FITZ I hope to be able to fit it all in.
I think it's great to include the school kids learning about the Great Lakes and the ships
that have sailed on them.
I grew up in Toledo Ohio and watched from many ports my dads ship sail off with a load
of iron ore or coal. Those good memories never go away. Hope to see you there.
All are welcome to honor and remember that fateful night.

Pam Johnson
Daughter of ROBERT C. RAFFERTY

S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Crew 1971.

Captain Peter  Pulcer
1966 - 1971
" I beat the hauling record with 30,260 tons of taconite on one trip in 1968"
Pete beat his own hauling record 6 more times after that.
Six years the Edmund Fitzgerald made hauling records.

Two boats went out to help that night
Capt. Don Erickson - William Clay Ford VIDEO
Arthur M. Anderson Boat VIDEO

THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD

Gordon Lightfoot

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'.
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya.
At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
May have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the Gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 'Gitche Gumee'.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early!
.

On the evening of 10 November 1975, the SS EDMUND FITZGERALD, while in a severe storm, with a full cargo of taconite pellets, sank in eastern Lake Superior at 46 deg 59.9' N, 85 deg 06.6W, approximately 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay, Michigan. This November 10th is the 34th anniversary of its interrupted 749th trip, when the "Mighty Fitz" sank during a storm on Lake Superior, 17 miles NW from safe harbor, killing the 29 men aboard.

Bishop Richard W. Ingalls, a longtime minister at Mariners' Church of Detroit

On Nov. 10, 1975, the 729-foot iron ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a storm. The next morning, Ingalls rang the church bell 29 times, once for each victim. His action was memorialized in Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot's song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

Ingalls also created an annual memorial service for the victims, with the ringing of the bell.